RESOLUTION Adopted by THE XLIIIrd CONFERENCE OF THE INTER-AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION
Mexico City, D.F., Mexico, June 13-16, 2007

Whereas: That the various provisions of the Statute of Rome of the International Criminal Court and its Rules of Procedure and Evidence provide for Counsel to represent suspects, accused persons, victims and the general interests of the defense;

Whereas: That the International Criminal Bar was founded on 15 June 2002, at the Conference of Montreal and held its first general assembly in Berlin in March 2003, at which 400 Counsel from more than 50 countries attended;

Whereas: That the membership of the International Criminal Bar currently consists of Bars, Law Societies, individual Counsel and non-governmental organizations concerned with international criminal justice and the effective representation of victims, and includes the Inter-American Bar Association, which represents bars and individual Counsel throughout the Americas;

Whereas: That the governing structure of the International Criminal Bar ensures representation and participation of all of the major legal systems in the world;

Whereas: That the International Criminal Bar is dedicated to maintaining and protecting the independence of Counsel, providing training and education for Counsel, and reaching out to legal communities and Counsel in countries around the world to ensure the highest levels of professionalism and the representation of all geographic areas among Counsel appearing before the International Criminal Court;

Whereas: That Rule 20, sub-rule 3 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence of the International Criminal Court requires the Registrar to consult, as appropriate, with any independent representative body of Counsel or legal associations, including any such body the establishment of which may be facilitated by the Assembly of States Parties;

Whereas: That Rules 93 and 95 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute provide for the participation of non-governmental organizations in meetings of the Assembly and its subsidiary bodies;

Whereas: That on 28 November 2005, the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute invited the International Criminal Bar to attend and participate in the work of the Assembly and, since that time, the International Criminal Bar has consistently and effectively participated in the work of the Assembly;

Whereas: That a substantial number of Counsel included on the Registrar's list of Counsel for the International Criminal Court are members of the International Criminal Bar, and most of the elected positions provided for in the regulations of the Court are filled by members of the International Criminal Bar;

Whereas: That the limited number of Counsel actually appearing before the International Criminal Court at any given time, the different languages spoken and the broad geographic distribution of Counsel on the list of Counsel all hinder the ability of listed Counsel to engage in democratic debates, to promote their professional development and to conduct business, which means they, therefore, need the strong support and resources of their national and regional bar associations;

Whereas: That the International Criminal Bar is already de facto established as an independent representative body of Counsel and of legal associations concerned principally with the International Criminal Court;

Whereas: That the International Criminal Bar has held successful outreach meetings for legal communities around the world, including Beirut, Lebanon, Tokyo, Japan, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Mexico City, Mexico, with outreach and training meetings planned for, inter alia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, New York, USA, Melbourne, Australia, Costa Rica, Morocco, Uganda and Egypt; and

Whereas: That the work of the International Criminal Bar on behalf of the International Criminal Court will be greatly facilitated in terms of raising funds for further training and outreach if recognition is extended to it by the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute.

THEREFORE,THE INTER-AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION RESOLVES:

1.That the independence of Counsel and equality of resources for the defense are necessary for accused persons to receive fair trials and for victims to be assured of their right to meaningfully participate in proceedings before the Court, thus assuring fairness, impartiality and credibility for their proceedings;

2.That the active participation of the International Criminal Bar on a continuous and ongoing basis should be supported and encouraged to ensure it continues providing training and education for Counsel, reaching out to legal communities and Counsel in countries around the world to ensure the highest levels of professionalism and the representation of all geographic areas and all of the major legal systems in the world among Counsel appearing before the International Criminal Court; and

3.That given the membership of the International Criminal Bar and its established commitment to promoting the independence of Counsel, guaranteeing fair trials and striving to ensure the credibility and integrity of the International Criminal Court; the work of the International Criminal Bar is therefore deserving of recognition by the Assembly of States Parties by affording it a permanent seat at the Assembly of States Parties as a consulting body of the Assembly.

4.Accordingly, the Inter-American Bar Association urges the Assembly of States Parties to provide the International Criminal Bar with a permanent seat at the Assembly of States Parties as a consulting body of the Assembly.